Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Manuka Honey

Manuka Honey is a product that is unique to New Zealand. The benefits of this amazing natural product are described below:

WHAT IS MANUKA HONEY?

Manuka Honey is produced from the flowers of two New Zealand plants. These are the Manuka and Kanuka trees but are generally referred to as 'Manuka Trees'. These are the New Zealand version of the Tea Tree.

Both the Manuka and Kanuka plants have historically been used by Maori and early European settlers for medicinal purposes. This use includes using the bark as a poultice, for colds, for flu, and stomach aches. Conductivity is an indirect measurement of the mineral content of a honey. Most flower honeys have low mineral content and a low conductivity. Manuka however has a high conductivity which averages 5.8 ± 1.54 SD.

WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT ACTIVE MANUKA HONEY?

Active Manuka Honey is Manuka Honey with additional antibacterial properties. These special properties are unique to New Zealand Manuka Honey and are quite remarkable. Awareness of these special properties is spreading with demand for this honey coming from around the world.
Most honeys are in some way antibacterial but normally this antibacterial activity is almost exclusively derived from Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) and is referred to as Peroxide Activity or PA. This is created from the activity of the enzyme Glucose Oxidase in honey. Like many enzymes, Glucose Oxidase is inactivated by light and heat. The stronger the light and/or heat, the faster it is inactivated. Active Manuka Honey has been found to have further antibacterial activity which, unlike other honeys, is derived from Non Peroxide Activity (NPA). This is more stable and is not affected by light and/or moderate heat. Not all Manuka Honey has this special quality and those that do are referred to as 'UMF Honey'. UMF stands for 'Unique Manuka Factors' and the higher the number the higher the antibacterial activity. This UMF activity is identified by testing in an independent laboratory.

MANUKA HONEY BENEFITS In addition to tasting great Active Manuka Honey maybe used to treat many internal and external medical conditions. Honey was used to treat infected wounds as long ago as 2000 years before bacteria were discovered to be the cause of infection. Research has shown that ACTIVE MANUKA HONEY has the highest levels of antimicrobial action against a broad spectrum of bacteria and fungi. There are now many published reports describing the effectiveness of MANUKA HONEY UMF in rapidly clearing infection from wounds, with no adverse effects to slow the healing process. There is also some evidence to suggest that UMF HONEY may actively promote healing.

WHICH UMF MANUKA HONEY TO USE UMF HONEY below UMF 10 is recommended for maintaining general health and good digestion. For indigestion, heartburn and diarrhea we recommend UMF10 to UMF15. MANUKA HONEY UMF20 can treat gastroenteritis, stomach/peptic ulcers, duodenal ulcers, esophagus ulcers, acid reflux heartburn, Irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, H. pylori and up-set stomach. To treat external conditions any Active Manuka Honey above UMF10 is recommended.

MANUKA HONEY ADVANTAGES
100% natural - New Zealand Manuka Honey is harvested from a clean green environment free of pollutants.
Low cost - UMF Manuka Honey is a low cost alternative to other medications.
Side affects - Using Manuka Honey has no known side affects.

I bought a bottle of Manuka Honey to try myself. Hubby say is really different from the usual honey that we take. Will let Melcolm try some over the wkns hehe.

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